Into the Night
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: Zero returns from a night in the darkness, and the most precious part of his life gives him a helping hand / Zero/Yuki fluff


Yuuki's eyes opened slightly at the scent of blood entering her chamber. She didn't move at first, as footsteps on the carpet and heavy breathing was heard going across the room. Another door opened and she sat up just as the door was closed.

Looking at her old fashioned clock on the wall Yuuki took notice it was just one hour before sunrise, and that made it clear enough as to who it was that had come into the chamber. Getting out of bed Yuuki put on her white satin robe before walking over to the bathroom door and opened it slowly.

And she saw that it was her husband Zero, proving her assumption was correct about it being someone she knew. He had his back to her, and that made for an opportunity Yuuki could not resist. Tip-toeing across the floor she wrapped her arms around Zero in a tight grip, "Got you!"

Zero turned his head to look back over his shoulder, literally not at all taken by surprise by the girl, who was really short in comparison to him, "Yuuki, you're up early."

His lack of surprise wasn't what she was expecting, "You're no fun!" She pulled her arms from around him, her red eyes gleaming in the dimly lit room. She pouted, "Aido always screamed whenever I did that."

Ignoring what she said, Zero removed the black overcoat he wore, revealing that he wore a white undershirt underneath, "I knew you were awake when I came in. Though I tried to be as quiet as I could."

He turned to look into the mirror, and it was there that Yuuki gasped. The entire right side of his face had splotches of blood going along his cheek and near his eye. The firearm known as Bloody Rose was on the edge of the sink, its brilliant silver plating also had some blood on it.

"Zero what happened?!"

Zero was quick to answer, "Don't worry, it's not mine." He turned on the faucet, hot water flowing fast. "A Level E put up a bigger fight than I had thought he would, the gun wasn't used because he kept getting too close." He turned to see that Yuuki was frantically searching through the cupboards while holding a few rags. "Yuuki?"

She held at least three rags in her hands she took one and got it wet in the sink, "Let me help you."

Zero didn't look pleased, but tried to be polite about it. "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not a little boy anymore. I can do it myself."

In true Yuuki fashion she ignored him, "I'm not gonna let you in the bed until I am positive that you're clean as a whistle. Got it?"

Zero just sighed and took what was coming.

Taking off her robe and setting it on the counter, showing she wore a black nightgown Yuuki set herself to working on her husband. She made him stand facing her with the hot rag going across his slightly pale skin, and being as gentle as she could. She knew that Zero's hunting days were supposedly over, but the saying old habits die hard proved to prevail here. In the two years since Zero and Yuuki had been wedded, every other night he had gone out to hunt rampant Level E vampires and drink their blood, not because he felt the need but because he had done it for so long that it felt weird when he didn't do it. Yuuki had tried to convince him to relax, as the manor they now lived in had plenty of blood for both of them but he had given her a questioning look and remained silent. She didn't fight him whenever he did go out, only that he returned in one piece. He had kept that part of the bargain perfectly so far, much to her relief.

Still, it didn't help with her worrying about him every night.

She was done with his cheek and neck in a matter of minutes, when she got up close to his eyes he closed them, being cooperative with her. His steady breathing was a sign of comfort that Yuuki knew from experience and it felt good to know that. "So, how many tonight?"

Eyes still closed, Zero answered, "Four."

He didn't have to explain what the answer meant, but Yuuki knew that meant that he had killed four Level E vampires. A record if she remembered correctly. "I'm glad you made it out unscathed."

She lowered her hand and noticed that he had a sullen look on his face. Zero used to rarely smile, but in the past couple years he had since tried to be happier at least in front of Yuuki, but yet again old habits seemed to die real hard. So she decided to try and lighten it up a bit this time.

Taking advantage of Zero having his eyes closed she brought her thumbs to the corners of his mouth and proceeded to stretch them out. Zero's eyes opened and the first thing he saw was Yuuki smiling.

"That's a much better look for you," she said, trying to hold in a laugh.

After she let him go, Zero got the memo. He had known Yuuki long enough to know when she was trying to cheer him up and he nodded, "I'll try harder next time."

Yuuki seemed satisfied, like she had accomplished a life goal, "Alright! Now I'm gonna finish you up, and then we can go back to bed." For Zero, there were times that he forgot that she was a pureblood vampire princess, since she sometimes acted like a child. Yet, that was more comforting than the cold as ice purebloods that he had been around years before. In fact, it brought back memories of happy times in the past, when she just a girl. No, not just a girl, a light in his life. A light that would never be dimmed.

She raised her hand again, attempting to clean off around Zero's right eye, and as soon as her hand got to his chest, Zero grabbed it with his hand and brought it to his chest. He sighed softly, and Yuuki got the gesture. Though she would've reacted to that alone, it was what came after that made her happy.

Zero smiled, a genuine one without her help, and made her heart leap.

"See? I knew you could do it," she said softly, and Zero pulled her closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder. He had done it so quickly she hadn't prepared, but she accepted his embrace as he ran his hand along the lengths of her hair in a gentle caress.

"Thanks, Yuuki," he whispered.

She wasn't going to ask why he said that, she didn't think it necessary. Instead of words, she turned her head in his embrace and got on her toes to bring her lips to the skin on the side of his neck.

Zero opened his eyes when he felt the heat of her breath against his skin and the gentle touch of her lips, "Yuuki, what are you doing?"

He loosened the hold he had on her and she took a step back, her facial features showing a look of slight nervousness, "Sorry, but I need some help. I can't quite reach…"

The fact that she was much shorter than he was finally dawned on Zero and he tried to hold in the urge to laugh. Yuuki was obviously not happy about being teased. "I can't help it with my short stature! You're too tall anyways, you jerk!" She pounded his chest once with her little fist. It didn't do anything to Zero.

 _She's more like her older self than I had thought_ , Zero thought pulled Yuuki in close again, but this time he bent down to help lift her off the ground with great ease. "Then let me help you."

Instead of just reaching him, Yuuki actually went a bit higher than Zero as he held her by her legs as she gazed lovingly down on him, "That's much better, but you know could have just bent down to me." She placed her hands on his shoulders before they slower went to his neck.

"I think this is better," Zero replied.

Yuuki had to admit, it was different than the usual things she could imagine. Though he was holding her up with his own strength, she hoped that she could help keep herself up should the need arise. "Okay, I suppose it is."

"So, are you gonna do what you wanted to do, or am I just going to hold you in my arms until dawn?"

He had teased her. Yuuki could've sworn she was dreaming but she was thankful she wasn't. She brought her hands to Zero's cheeks, "Just shut up and let me kiss you, already."

Right to the point, Zero smiled again as Yuuki finally kissed him.

* * *

A/N: I was reading the manga and I thought it would a good thing to write this, as the ending made me think a good deal. Hope you enjoy this!


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